Somethin'
by Sheazy Daisy
Summary: "I figure I like the parts of you that I seen so far, and I'm hopin' I'll like the rest, too. You did say you'd follow me anywhere..." Jack and Katherine fluff because I love Jack Kelly and like to pretend that I'm Katherine. Rated T just in case.
1. Jack: Windows

**Soo, I saw Newsies in July of this year and absolutely adored it. Since then, I've been beyond obsessed. I know all the words to all the songs and am absolutely desperate to see the musical again. Of course, it's gone off Broadway now (I cried for a week when I found out), but I'm going to see it at the end of October AND I'M SO EXCITED. It won't have Corey Cott but that's okay... I'll learn to deal.**

**Anyways, I don't own Newsies or Jack Kelly or Katherine Plumber/Pulitzer. The only things that belong to me are my ideas, my computer, and my Newsies merchandise. Enjoy! :)**

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There was a light sheen of dew glistening under the slowly lightening sky when Jack woke. It was early, earlier than he usually would've woken up to sell papers with the boys, but sleeping had been difficult for the past couple of weeks, and the habit of waking up periodically during the night hadn't disappeared like he thought it would after the strike ended. Jack rolled out of bed, wincing as it creaked. The newsboy lodge house was quiet except for the sounds of the boys' snoring, and none of them stirred as Jack grabbed a shirt, his shoes, and his cap. He mashed the latter onto his head, effectively keeping his wild hair in check, and then moved as quietly as possible down the stairs and out onto the streets.

He liked this time of day, although he hadn't usually been awake to see it before the strike. The city was almost completely silent, as silent as New York City could be, and most of the people out and about were drunk, stumbling home after a night of partying. The sun was just beginning to rise as Jack walked along the paving stones, hands stuffed into his trouser pockets and a small smile pulling at his lips. He knew that he should turn around soon, in order to be back at Newsie Square in time to get his papers for the day, but something drew him in the other direction.

Jack came to a stop at the bottom of a familiar fire escape. The metal structure climbed up the side of a brick apartment building, and he stared up at it for a time, fighting the urge to swing himself onto it and scale it. He knew he shouldn't, but logic flew out the window when it came to her. Rational thought be damned.

He stared to climb up, counting the floors as he went. When he reached the third row of windows, he walked along the platform until he reached the fifth one, the window he knew opened onto her bedroom. Jack peered in, feeling a little sheepish but ignoring the flush creeping up his neck. There she was, framed by the fluttering white curtains on either side of the window. Katherine Plumber. Or Pulitzer. Whatever. She would always be Plumber to him.

She was nestled in a bundle of blankets, swaddled like a baby with her red curls fanned out on the pillow. Her eyes fluttered beneath their lids as she dreamed. His eyes caught on her parted lips, and his heart jumped as he remembered the feel of them on his own. Jack settled himself down onto the fire escape, content to sit there although he felt a little like some sort of weird stalker. He managed to tear his eyes away from Katherine's sleeping form and leaned back against the wall of the building, staring out at the sun as it rose over the city.

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**So that was my first chapter! Yay! Jack and Katherine fluff is my favorite thing, because I like to pretend that Katherine is me and that Jack is mine... Also, I feel like Jack is being a little stalkerish with the whole Edward Cullen "I-watch-you-while-you-sleep" thing going on, but whatevs...**

**Feedback is much appreciated! Tell me what you think, what you liked, what you didn't like, any mistakes you saw, any ideas you have. I do love constructive criticism. :)**


	2. Katherine: An Apple

**Fluff, fluff, and more fluff. I've decided this story is going to flip back and forth 3rd person POVs between Katherine and Jack. So... yeah.**

****I don't own Newsies or Jack Kelly or Katherine Plumber/Pulitzer. The only things that belong to me are my ideas, my computer, and my Newsies merchandise. Enjoy! :)****

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Katherine woke to light streaming in her window, filtering through the glass. She opened her eyes and glanced over at her clock. It was half past eight. She knew that the boys would be out and about selling papers. If it had been a week ago, she would've been at work, typing away about the strike. Katherine wasn't quite sure what to do with herself now that she had no job. It was funny. She had been raised to be a society girl, content to spend her days visiting other society girls at their fancy homes and preparing for parties. Now she couldn't imagine doing any of that and found it strange that she didn't have a job to worry about that morning.

Stumbling out of bed, Katherine went to the window, eager to get a glimpse of the bustling New York City morning. It was then that she saw the person slumped on her fire escape and almost ran to get a fire poker.

It was Jack.

She smothered her scream with her hand and stared at him wide-eyed for a few moments, trying to absorb the fact that he was sleeping outside of her bedroom window on her fire escape. Katherine couldn't quite decide if it was creepy or romantic, but he looked so peaceful while sleeping that she didn't contemplate it for too long. It was strange to see him like this, completely unguarded and without the usual cocky smirk.

Carefully and quietly, Katherine grabbed her dressing gown from its hook, wrapping it tightly around her nightgown, and padded into the small kitchen. She didn't have much food, and she didn't know how to cook _any_ of it—another useful skill she wished her mother could've taught her, rather than how to flutter a fan—but Katherine tried to make it work. She slathered a slice of bread from the bakery down the street with butter and grabbed an apple. Then, carefully, trying to talk herself out of it the entire time but refusing to stop moving, she returned to her bedroom, unlatched the window, and eased it open.

The air outside had a little bite to it, as autumn was setting in, and she shivered a bit in her thin dressing gown. Before she could go back inside and put on some real clothing, not only because she was cold but also because it had just truly hit her that she was in her _dressing gown_ in front of Jack Kelly, Jack began to stir. His eyelids fluttered and he murmured something incomprehensible. The gesture was so childlike—and unlike him—that her heart melted a bit.

"Jack?" she whispered, setting the plate with the bread and apple down on the fire escape. She knelt down next to him, letting her fingers trail over the fine lines of his face before she could think too much about it. He mumbled something again and released a happy sigh as her thumb ran lightly over his bottom lip and then along his jaw.

Katherine jumped and gave a little squeak when Jack's hand shot up and grasped her wrist. They stayed like that for a few moments, Jack's eyes still closed and Katherine's wide, until Jack slid his hand up to hers and intertwined their fingers. Her breath caught as he brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed each of her fingertips. Katherine decided that she liked Jack when he was half asleep, possibly more than when he was wide awake.

"Hullo, Ace," he said, his voice low and husky with sleep. She suddenly found it rather difficult to swallow.

"Jack, what on earth are you doing on my fire escape?" It was rather embarrassing how breathy her voice sounded as he opened one lazy eye and began to play with her fingers.

"Not sure, really. I woke early and went for a walk, and before I could think I was here. You've got a nice fire escape, y'know." He opened the other eye and squinted up at her in the bright light. "What time is it?"

"Quarter till nine now, I think. You know, it's kind of creepy that you're just out here on my fire escape—"

"Quarter till—!" Jack leapt up, his sleepy demeanor forgotten in just a few seconds as her words registered. "I didn't get any papes and the boys'll be worried—"

"Jack, relax!" Katherine cried, laughing a little as she grabbed his forearm and used it to pull herself up from the fire escape. "It's okay. I'm sure the boys are fine. And you can miss a day of carrying the banner, can't you?" she said teasingly, bumping his shoulder with hers. "I mean, God knows you deserve it after the strike."

Jack stared at her in silence for a few seconds and she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Let's do somethin'."

"Um… Define something…" she said with a nervous laugh.

Jack chuckled and captured a stray strand of her hair with his fingers, twisting it around absently until he seemed to realize what he was doing and released it, a little red creeping into his cheeks. "Dunno, Ace, let's just go for a walk in the park or somethin'."

Katherine crossed her arms over her chest and examined him for a few minutes. "You want to go for a walk in the park?"

"Well, yeah… Somethin' wrong with that?" Jack looked down at his feet and shuffled them a little.

"No, it just doesn't seem very Jack Kelly-like."

He looked up and grinned at her, the flash of teeth causing her heart to stutter. "Well, you an' me, Ace? We don't know each other too well yet. Y'know, not as well as we could know each other. For all you know, I could be a completely different person than the guy you seen so far."

Katherine felt a tug at her lips as she fought the urge to grin right back at him. "You're suggesting we get to know each other better?"

"Well, I figure I like the parts of you that I seen so far, and I'm hopin' I'll like the rest, too." Jack tilted his head at her and then looked away, looking uncharacteristically shy. "You did say you'd follow me anywhere…"

Katherine felt her cheeks go a bit red but fought to remain composed. "I did say that, didn't I?"

He nodded.

Katherine hesitated a few unnecessary moments and then said, "All right, Jack Kelly. I'm going to go get dressed, and you're going to get down from my fire escape and come to my door like a proper gentleman. Ask me to go for a walk then and we'll see how your little plan works out for you."

"I thought you liked my unconventional personality." Jack's eyes were bright with excitement. She picked up the forgotten plate from the fire escape, one side of her mouth tipping up in a mischievous smile, and handed him the apple.

"That's a big word, Jack Kelly. And maybe I do like your decidedly non-gentlemanly ways, but I doubt my neighbors do."

Jack's laugh echoed behind her as Katherine climbed back into her bedroom, shut the window (though didn't lock it this time), and closed the curtains.

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**I mentioned this was fluff, right? Will it have a real plot...? Who knows...**

**Again, reviews and feedback are much appreciated! :)**


	3. Jack: Padded Stairs & Article Clippings

**I don't own Newsies or Jack Kelly or Katherine Plumber/Pulitzer. The only things that belong to me are my ideas, my computer, and my Newsies merchandise. Enjoy! :)**

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Jack's heart was pounding as he climbed the stairs up to the third floor. It somehow seemed much harder than climbing the fire escape. This, a world of padded staircases in apartment buildings and oil paintings on the walls of lobbies, wasn't a world he was used to. But it was Katherine's world. Or, she at least had one foot in it. And if it was a world with Katherine, he was pretty sure it couldn't be that bad.

The third floor had two apartments on it, and he experienced a moment of panic that he wouldn't be able to figure out which was hers. He certainly didn't want to be knocking on some random person's door. His heart stilled, however, when he saw the piece of paper sticking out from underneath one of the doors. Picking it up, Jack didn't recognize the hasty cursive—he had only seen her typed words before—but it was clear by the phrasing and grammar that the note was from Katherine.

It read: "The last time a boy dropped by to ask me on a walk, I never opened the door for him. Let's hope you have better luck."

Jack chuckled, imagining some unlucky soul standing at Katherine's door and getting rejected in such an unfortunate way. He folded the note up and stuck it into his pocket for safe keeping—when had he become so sentimental?—looking up at Katherine's door and rapping on the wood three times in rapid succession.

A couple of moments later, she was swinging the door open and smiling that breathtaking smile at him. He found himself grinning back, opening his mouth to say something sarcastic but then remembering that he was supposed to be a gentleman. "Miss Plumber?" There was no way he was calling her 'Miss Pulitzer.'

"Good morning, Mr. Kelly."

"Ah, I was just wonderin' if you'd like to come on a walk—"

"Stop."

Jack met Katherine's eyes with alarm. Was she… rejecting him? Had he ever been rejected by a girl in his life? He didn't think so… Well, did it even matter? This was Katherine. She did whatever she wanted and he didn't expect her to do anything else, but he'd just thought—

"Your attempts at suppressing your accent were too painful for me to listen to. I had to stop you." She smiled at him, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Let me grab my coat, and we'll go."

"Oh. Uh, okay." Jack could feel his heart as it began to beat again in his chest. "I'll just wait here, then."

"Don't be an idiot," Katherine said over her shoulder as she bustled away, skirts swishing, to find a jacket. "Come in and throw that apple core away."

Jack looked down at the apple core and then uncertainly up at the interior of Katherine's apartment. He moved slowly over the threshold and towards where he could see the kitchen. There was a garbage bin in the corner in which he deposited his apple core. Then he glanced around some more, unsure if it was appropriate to gawk at all of the _stuff_ she had in here. One wall was covered with newspaper clippings, and his heart swelled a little at the picture of him and the other boys, along with her stunning article about the strike. A smile pulled at his lips as he scanned the articles, unable to make much sense of them but appreciating their worth anyways, as mementos to her if not anything else.

"Jack, are you—" Katherine came around the corner, fixing the pin holding her hair away from her face, and stopped when she saw him.

Jack grinned at her, pointing at the pinned articles. "Ace, did you clip all these?"

"Yes." She shuffled forward a few steps to stand beside him. Her closeness made him breathless. "It inspires me, you know? If I'm looking for ideas, I just look at all of these great articles that all of these great people have written, and I remember that I _can_ do it, especially now that one of my own articles is up there." She chuckled sheepishly, glancing up at him. "Silly, huh?"

"No. Not silly." Jack didn't say anything else, because he couldn't think of the words for anything else he wanted to say, but Katherine still stared at him like the words that had just come out of his mouth were absolutely profound.

They were silent for a few moments, a comfortable silence that make Jack inexplicably pleased, as Jack examined the articles some more and Katherine studied his face.

"Well, all right then," she said finally, breaking the silence and tugging on his shirt sleeve. "We'd better be off then, Mr. Kelly. The day's not going to wait for us. It's a beautiful morning, and I'd rather not miss it."

Jack looked over at her and grinned. "Of course, Miss Plumber." Before he could even think, he offered her his arm. She smiled and looped her right hand through the crook of his elbow, bringing the left up to grip the right so he couldn't pull away. Then they were walking out the door, down the strange padded steps, past the oil paintings in the lobby, and onto the streets of the city. Jack had rarely ever felt so content.

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**Fluff, fluff, fluff.**

**I kind of really like the idea of Katherine having a wall of article clippings to inspire her. But I don't know how it would work in 1899... Did they have cork board? I'm gonna leave it kind of open-ended because I'm really not sure.**

**Also, I don't know if Jack can read or not... I'm assuming that most newsboys during that time period couldn't read that well, because none of them really went to school, but like, they have to read the headlines in order to hawk them, right?**

**Reviews and feedback are much appreciated! :)**


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